United States Army soldiers use sound deception to deceive the German in Film 'Sonic Deception'.

Location:
United States USA Date:1945Duration:14 min 51 secSound:Yes

Film 'Sonic Deception' shows the use of sounds to deceive the enemy (sometimes described as the "Ghost Army" in World War 2). Dramatization shows United States troops crossing river in small boats and arriving on beach. They establish beachhead on river bank and defeat German troops located there, having arrived by suprise. Film recounts through actors how a German spy at a German army corps headquarters informs about the presence of United States tanks and trucks. Film demonstrates how sound recordings were used by U.S. soldiers to create false impression of troop activities including bridge building and tank and vehicle movements, in order to serve as a decoy and mislead Germany enemy forces about U.S. Army activities. Dramatization shows German officials consulting and looking at maps. German soldier looks through binoculars and informs officials through phone. Tanks cross a bridge and artillery on field. Actual scenes of front gate of Army Experimental Center station headquarters at Pine Camp in Great Bend, New York (upper New York State). U.S. Army soldiers are shown recording via microphone the sounds of actual bridge construction at the center. The microphone routes to a recording truck where a turntable for pressing recordings is running, creating a phonograph recording of the bridge building decoy sounds. Recording of other sounds is shown, including sound of a bulldozer at work, sounds of men unloading trucks, and sounds of tanks crossing a bridge. Soldier is seen selecting a phonograph record from the Army Experimental Station Library.